Minus v. State

901 So. 2d 344, 2005 WL 1030127
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMay 4, 2005
Docket4D03-3942
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 901 So. 2d 344 (Minus v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Minus v. State, 901 So. 2d 344, 2005 WL 1030127 (Fla. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

901 So.2d 344 (2005)

Leonard MINUS, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 4D03-3942.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

May 4, 2005.

*346 Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Louis G. Carres, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and David M. Schultz, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

WARNER, J.

Leonard Minus appeals his convictions of kidnapping, sexual battery, and burglary of a conveyance, as well as his resulting life sentence. Because of numerous evidentiary errors that prevented Minus from establishing his defense of consent and the lack of credibility of the complaining victim, his long-time girlfriend, Minus did not receive a fair trial. We reverse.

I. Facts

The charges against Minus arose out of an incident involving Minus and his girlfriend of seven years, T.B. They had been dating since T.B. was fourteen. The relationship progressed to the point of sexual activity after about three years. T.B.'s mother did not like Minus and disapproved of the relationship. T.B. claims she broke off the relationship in November 2001, approximately two months before the incident in this case, because Minus was typically angry and had mood swings. All contact between Minus and T.B. did not cease, however. She met Minus on his birthday, December 5th, and took him to the mall in Vero Beach. She explained that she did this out of friendship because she felt sorry for Minus, as he had issues with his mental health and was placed on medication. She also gave Christmas gifts to Minus and his parents that year.

On New Year's Day 2002, T.B. called Minus from New York. She did this after she called her mother who complained that Minus had been calling the mother's house looking for T.B. T.B. asked Minus to stop calling her mother's house. Five days later, on T.B.'s birthday, she went to Minus's home for a birthday celebration with his family. After they had cake, Minus took T.B. out to dinner.

Because T.B.'s mother did not like Minus, T.B. did not tell her about all the times she saw Minus. T.B. did not remember telling her mother about the December meeting, nor did she tell her mother that she called Minus on New Year's Day or had dinner with him on her birthday. T.B.'s mother did not allow Minus in her home and she pressed harassment charges against him because he was constantly calling her home.

On January 7, two days after T.B.'s birthday, Minus called T.B. to find out where she would be parking at the community college the next day. T.B. testified she did not tell Minus where she planned to park. When she went to school the next day, T.B. left the doors of her parked car unlocked. When she returned to her car after classes, Minus was sitting in the passenger seat. T.B. told him to get out of her car and he refused. T.B. told Minus that she needed to use the restroom, and *347 he jumped out of the car to accompany her.

As they walked to the administration building, they passed a security guard, but T.B. did not alert him that anything was wrong as she did not think he could help her. Minus allowed her to enter the administration building, where T.B. asked the receptionist to call 911 because a man was following her. The receptionist saw Minus but dispatched security instead of calling 911.

T.B. walked to the bathroom with Minus following her. She testified that Minus entered the bathroom and dragged her out of the stall. Minus then walked her back to the car, as T.B. kept yelling for him to leave her alone.

Two witnesses saw T.B. and a man having a confrontation as they walked to the car. They both thought that the woman appeared to be afraid of the man. One of the witnesses alerted security.

T.B. testified that Minus forced her into her car and ordered her to drive him home. While she was driving, he directed her to drive to a location off a dirt road where they parked. Minus told T.B. to get into the back seat and take her clothes off. She started to cry, and he proceeded to hit her in the back of the head and choke her. He began to have sex with her, which lasted for hours. At one point, Minus threatened T.B. with the sharp edge of a bottle cap. A bottle cap was not inventoried by the police when the car was searched.

Eventually, T.B. told Minus that she was hungry. She got dressed, and they drove out of the area. Minus gave her directions to reach his house from the secluded area where they had been parked. When they were near Minus's house, police spotted T.B.'s car because they had been looking for her. Several police cars began to chase them. When T.B. thought the police were close enough that she felt safe, she stopped the car, jumped out, and ran to the officers. The officers said she was very upset when they approached.

T.B. was taken to the emergency room. She testified that she had bumps on her head, a mark on her neck, and a scratch and bruise on her back. She did not have any vaginal bruising or any bruising on her face. Her mother testified that she observed bruising on T.B.'s back and red hand prints around her neck, and one of the officers testified that she saw bruises on T.B.'s back. No other evidence of T.B.'s injuries was admitted.

Minus testified in his own defense, and, needless to say, his version of events was substantially different. He testified that on the day of the incident he and T.B. were to discuss their relationship. T.B. told him where she would park her car and gave him permission to wait in her car. Minus admitted waiting for her while she went to the restroom but denied dragging her out. He did not force T.B. into the car with him. When they got to the secluded area, T.B. agreed to have sexual intercourse with Minus. They stayed there three to four hours before T.B. drove Minus home. When the police began to follow them, Minus told T.B. to get out of the car and find out what was going on. After this occurred, he was arrested and taken to the police station.

Minus testified that he and T.B. did not break up in November 2001; they were still dating at the time of the incident. He claimed this was evidenced by T.B. continuing to visit him and give him gifts. T.B. gave Minus a teddy bear for his birthday, took him to the Vero Beach Mall, and went with him to see his friends. The trial court admitted the bear into evidence but ruled the note attached to the bear was inadmissible. T.B. also gave Minus a teddy *348 bear for Christmas. The note attached to that bear was also not admitted. On T.B.'s birthday, she and Minus had sex in her car behind a house in the neighborhood. According to Minus, he and T.B. had sex in her car more times than he can count, and each time it was consensual. After presentation of all of the evidence, the jury convicted Minus of all charges, and the court sentenced him to life in prison. He appeals his convictions and sentences.

II. Analysis

The standard for the admission of evidence that a criminal defendant seeks to admit to show bias or prejudice, or to attack the credibility of a testifying witness, is broader than that of a civil defendant because of the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. See Mitchell v. State, 862 So.2d 908, 912 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003); Barows v. State, 805 So.2d 120, 122-23 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). As we explained in Jones v. State, 577 So.2d 606 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991):

In Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 94 S.Ct.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
901 So. 2d 344, 2005 WL 1030127, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/minus-v-state-fladistctapp-2005.